The Order of Railway Conductors of America (ORC) was a labor union that represented
train conductors in the United States. It has its origins in the Conductors Union founded in 1868. Later it extended membership to
brakemen
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...
. In 1969 the ORC merged with three other unions to form the
United Transportation Union
The United Transportation Union (UTU) was a broad-based, transportation labor union that represented about 70,000 active and retired railroad, bus, mass transit, and airline workers in the United States. The UTU was headquartered in Cleveland, Oh ...
.
Organizational history
Foundation (1868)
The first Conductor's Union was formed in early 1868 at
Amboy, Illinois
Amboy is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, along the Green River. The population was 2,500 at the 2010 census. The chain of Carson Pirie Scott & Co. began in Amboy when Samuel Carson opened his first dry goods store there in 1854. T ...
, by a group of conductors on the
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
. Soon after another division was formed at
Galesburg, Illinois
Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical ...
, by a group of conductors from the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
. The two groups met in July 1868 at
Mendota, Illinois
Mendota is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, in the state's north-central region. The population was 7,061 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Mendota is located approximately 85 miles w ...
, and formed the "Conductors Union", which was to organize conductors across the country. On December 15, 1868 the group met at
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, where they elected the leaders to form a "grand division" and adopted a constitution and bylaws.
The ORC represented the interests of train conductors, whose job function approximated that of an ocean ship captain and were consequently the most prestigious and highly compensated railway workers of their era. The ORC was governed by conventions held every three years and was not part of the
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) was a national federation of labor unions in the United States that continues today as the AFL-CIO. It was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions eager to provide mutu ...
.
Benefit and temperance society (1869-1890)
The original organization was a
fraternal benefit and
temperance society
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emphas ...
rather than a labor union.
It adopted the name "Conductors Brotherhood" at its first annual convention in 1869, and changed to the "Order of Railway Conductors of America" in 1878.
The order began to publish its official organ, the monthly magazine ''Railway Conductor's Monthly,'' in 1884. The publication was renamed ''The Railway Conductor'' and moved to a semi-monthly frequency in August 1889. The magazine's frequency reverted to monthly status in June 1891.
The order was incorporated in 1887 and made its headquarters in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...
.
The objectives given in the 1887 articles of incorporation were, "To unite its members; to combine their interests as railway conductors; to elevate their standards as such and their character as men for their mutual improvement and advantage, socially and otherwise..." The order provided mutual support and assistance to conductors, and administered a death and
disability insurance
Disability Insurance, often called DI or disability income insurance, or income protection, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that a disability creates a barrier for completion of core work func ...
plan. It covered the territories of the United States and Canada. Membership was open to white men in the occupations of road conductors, assistant conductors and ticket collectors; road brakemen,
flagmen and train baggagemen;
yard
The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...
conductors, yard foremen and other yard trades.
From 1877 to 1890 any member that participated in a strike would be expelled from the order. This led to the perception among other railway labor organizations that the conductors were
strikebreaker
A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the st ...
s. In response, the rival
Brotherhood of Railway Conductors was formed as a labor union in 1885. A later report of this event in the journal of the
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) was a labor organization for railroad employees founded in 1883. Originally called the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, its purpose was to negotiate contracts with railroad management and to provide in ...
said "the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors was organized at a time when the Order of Railway Conductors could scarcely be said to be in good standing with the laboring people because it had not a protective constitution. The young Brotherhood was organized to supply a pressing want of the time..."
During a strike of switchmen in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in 1886, the Rock Island Division 106 of the Order of Railway Conductors said the demands of the switchmen were unjust and unreasonable. In response, one of the lodges of the
Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association
The Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association of North America (SMAA) was a 19th-century fraternal benefit society and trade union in the United States of America. Its members included the operators of railway track switches and those who coupled train ...
resolved, "That we extend our contempt and detestation to the members of Division 106, Order of Railway Conductors, for grovelling at the feet of railroad officials..."
Consolidation (1890-1941)
Internal and external pressures combined to cause an upheaval in the organization in 1890. The old leaders were dismissed and a new, more aggressive policy of trade regulation was adopted. Good relations were established with other unions. The order continued to provide strong fraternal and beneficial services, but the focus shifted to regulating working conditions and negotiating trade agreements to resolve difficulties with railroad owners.
At the September 21, 1891 meeting of the Brotherhood of Railway Conductors its Grand Chief
George W. Howard recommended consolidation with the Order of Railway conductors.
The rival Brotherhood was absorbed into the order.
In 1888
Edgar E. Clark had been elected Grand Senior Conductor of the order. In 1890 he became Grand Chief Conductor of the Order.
Clark would head the union until 1906.
Assisting him, in 1894
Austin B. Garretson
Austin Bruce Garretson (4 September 1856 – 27 February 1931) was an American labor leader who was head of the Order of Railway Conductors from 1906 to 1919.
He gained national prominence in 1916 when he averted a nationwide railroad strike in ex ...
was elected grand senior conductor, while C. H. Wilkins was assistant grand chief conductor.
Garretson and Wilkins then exchanged positions.
In 1900 E. E. Clark made a speech at the Chicago Conference on Conciliation where he said that the men favored arbitration for settlement of labor disputes.
On 1 September 1906 Austin B. Garretson was elected Grand Chief Conductor of the Order.
His title was changed to president in 1907.
In 1907 the ORC and other railroad unions managed to get Congress to pass laws that limited to sixteen the maximum number of hours a railroader could work in one day.
Garretson was appointed a member of the
Commission on Industrial Relations
The Commission on Industrial Relations (also known as the Walsh Commission) p. 12. was a commission created by the U.S. Congress on August 23, 1912, to scrutinize US labor law. The commission studied work conditions throughout the industrial Uni ...
created by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
on 23 August 1912.
The commission sat through 154 days of public hearings between the fall of 1913 and the spring of 1915, uncovering many abuses and making various recommendations.
In the late summer of 1916 Garretson played a leading role in negotiations in which railway workers won the right to an eight-hour day and time and a half overtime pay with the passage of the
Adamson Act
The Adamson Act was a United States federal law passed in 1916 that established an eight-hour workday, with additional pay for overtime work, for interstate railroad workers.
History
The terms that were embodied in the act were negotiated by ...
.
Garretson retired in 1919.
Lucius E. Sheppard (1863-1934) was president of the Order of Railway Conductors from 1919-28.
He was one of the committee of six leaders of the main railway unions who founded the
Conference for Progressive Political Action The Conference for Progressive Political Action was officially established by the convention call of the 16 major railway labor unions in the United States, represented by a committee of six: William H. Johnston of the Machinists' Union, Martin F. ...
in Chicago in February 1922.
The order's president S. N. Berry died on June 27, 1934. On 16 July 1934 James A. Phillips was appointed to fill his unexpired term as president.
Phillips was elected chairman of the
Railway Labor Executives' Association
Railway Labor Executives' Association (RLEA) was a federation of rail transport labor unions in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1926 with the purpose of acting as a legislative lobbying and policy advisory body.Galenson, 1960, p. 5 ...
in February 1940. He replaced George Harrison, who resigned.
Phillips became President-Emeritus of the Order of Railway Conductors in 1941.
Later history (1941-1969)
Harry W. Fraser was president of the Order of Railway Conductors of America from 1941 to 1950.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he was a representative of labor interests of the government's Management-Labor Policy Committee.
Fraser encouraged the
Order of Sleeping Car Conductors to join the Order of Railway Conductors during the war.
The Order of Sleeping Car Conductors amalgamated with the ORC in 1942.
Fraser was twice president of the
Railway Labor Executives' Association
Railway Labor Executives' Association (RLEA) was a federation of rail transport labor unions in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1926 with the purpose of acting as a legislative lobbying and policy advisory body.Galenson, 1960, p. 5 ...
.
Fraser died of a series of heart attacks at the union convention in May 1950. Roy O. Hughes of Milwaukee was elected as his successor.
During the period from 1951 to 1954 various agreements were made over wage increases, cost of living adjustments and rules changes.
The order had been accepting brakemen as members since the 1930s, and in 1954 the union changed its name to the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen (ORC&B). On May 26, 1955, after mediation, a strike ballot and Presidential Emergency Board 109, the order achieved agreement on a graduated rate of pay system. Further gains were made in 1964, when employees won paid holidays and expenses away from home, and in 1966 when further improvements to wages and benefits were gained.
In 1969 the ORC&B merged with the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (B of LF&E) was a North American railroad fraternal benefit society and trade union in the 19th and 20th centuries. The organization began in 1873 as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen (B of ...
, the
Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen
The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen (BRT) was a labor organization for railroad employees founded in 1883. Originally called the Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, its purpose was to negotiate contracts with railroad management and to provide in ...
, and the
Switchmen's Union of North America
The Switchmen's Union of North America (SUNA) was a labor union formed in October 1894 that represented the track switch operators and people who coupled railway cars in railway yards in the United States and Canada. It became part of the United T ...
to form the "United Transportation Union" (UTU).
See also
*
History of rail transport in the United States
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
List of American railway unions
The following is a list of trade union, unions and friendly society, brotherhoods playing a significant role in the railroad industry of the United States of America. Many of these entities changed names and merged over the years; this list is b ...
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Refend
Further reading
* William P. Daniels (ed.)
of the Grand Division of the Order of Railway Conductors (Formerly Conductors' Brotherhood): From Organization to the Eighteenth Session, Inclusive, 1868-1885.''Cedar Rapids, IA: Standard Co. for the Order of Railway Conductors, 1888.
* Walter Licht, ''Working for the Railroad: The Organization of Work in the Nineteenth Century.'' Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983.
* Paul Michel Taillon, ''Good, Reliable, White Men: Railroad Brotherhoods, 1877-1917.'' Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2009.
* ''Railway Conductor's Monthly'' / ''The Railway Conductor''
:
Vol. 1 (1884)
Vol. 2 (1885)
Vol. 3 (1886)
Vol. 4 (1887)
Vol. 5 (1888)
Vol. 6 (1889)
Vol. 7 (1890)
Vol. 8 (1891)
Vol. 9 (1892)
Vol. 10 (1893)
Vol. 11 (1894)
Vol. 12 (1895)
Vol. 13 (1896)
Railway unions in the United States
1868 establishments in Illinois
Trade unions established in 1868
Trade unions disestablished in 1969
Fraternal orders
Organizations based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
United Transportation Union